← DictionaryBrand Voice Guidelines
also called voice guide
Documented rules and examples for how a brand writes, including what it avoids.
Written examples of right and wrong for your words.
What It Is
Brand Voice Guidelines sits on the Brand side of the work, in the Voice area. The canonical meaning is documented rules and examples for how a brand writes, including what it avoids.
It is a repeatable structure, which means it only pays off when it is actually followed through instead of quoted. That is the version worth keeping, because it survives contact with a real project.
How It's Used
Brand Voice Guidelines earns its keep in positioning conversations, identity decisions and the language a business commits to. It normally appears alongside Tone of Voice, Brand Guidelines and Copywriting. The practical test is whether anyone can follow it without the person who wrote it in the room.
Why It Matters
The cost of being vague about Brand Voice Guidelines shows up later, not today. When it is unclear, every later choice about message, design and channel is made on sand. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture flat-pack instructions. Boring, and much faster than improvising. Written examples of right and wrong for your words.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Brand Voice Guidelines carries the narrow meaning: documented rules and examples for how a brand writes, including what it avoids.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Brand Voice Guidelines is written examples of right and wrong for your words.
The Bottom Line
Treat Brand Voice Guidelines as a decision, not a description. Written examples of right and wrong for your words.